Spirituality in the Modern World

Spirituality is hard to define precisely, but it can mean an unexplainable, more immense force that exists, which is more than human and can be considered divine and cosmic. A lot of the spiritual teachings describe most instances in a universal format. In one video of Sathya Sai Baba, to explain the universality of everything in life says these lines: “Clothes are many, but the yarn is one. Jewels are many, but gold is one. Cows are many, but the milk is one. Beings are many, but life is one.” Due to these universal ideas, the applications of these concepts are universal as well.  

With the rise of modernity and capitalism, there comes the commodification and fetishization of goods. Since most people choose to believe in science than in indefinite and abstract, spirituality is usually marketed as scientific. With the constant need to acquire a larger audience for the teachings, there has been a westernization of many aspects.  

For most non Indians (especially white people who enjoy appropriating other cultures), Indian spirituality means devotional chanting in yoga studios, accompanied by harmoniums, tablas, incense, and Hindu gods and goddesses’ idols. Spirituality has progressed from an abstract concept of what is within to a more “fun,” accessible, and interactive version of it.  

These modern adaptations in spirituality go directly against what spiritual gurus are preaching. “Body attachment is the cause of delusion,” says Sathya Sai Baba. Spirituality means thinking that your body is simply a vessel carrying your life, and there is much more to oneself beyond that. The result of development in terms of modernity and capitalism has meant that the base values of spirituality itself are altered to fit the modern business setup. 

Late capitalism is essentially the critique of capitalism where it observes the absurdities, contradictions, crises, injustices, and inequality created by modern business development. By adapting itself to the world’s changes by commoditizing itself and consequently feeding into capitalism, spirituality goes against the ideas of late capitalism. 

Spirituality has developed to have a direct association with some rather materialistic attributes that are significant to the current idea of spirituality. Observing the numerous videos of spiritual gurus that the general public admire, respect and follow, one can discern various visual aspects that in themselves serve as a critique to the manner in which spirituality is often portrayed. 

Firstly, we have the throne-like seating on a raised dais that overlooks a crowd of compliant followers. This instantaneously establishes a power dynamic that originally had no place in the concept of spirituality. The guru is portrayed as a superior and divine being. This portrayal plays in perfectly with the idea of spiritual gurus often being considered the voice of God. For instance, Sathya Sai Baba has notoriously been renowned as the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba. 

Often spirituality has come with exorbitant displays of extravagance. While, initially, the concept of spirituality called for a distance from all materialistic items, it has come to be associated with gaudy items such silver idols or golden statues. Since spirituality in its truest form rejects idol worship, it is interesting to observe how the change in times has brought about such changes.